After 14 years of hooves pounding across the track and revelry in wide-brimmed hats, the Brookhill Steeplechase, the Triangle's premier horse-racing event, will be silent in May.

Uncertainty about the land in Clayton where the race has been held prompted the Raleigh Jaycees to cancel the annual spring event this year. The owners of the farm, Ray Earp Jr. and his sister Mary "Winkie" Worley, have been negotiating the sale of the property.

The cancellation announced Thursday follows one of the race's most successful runs in recent years. Last year, it drew about 15,000 spectators and raised more than $20,000 for Jaycees' community service projects, organizers say.

The steeplechase has been one of a trifecta of big annual Jaycees fundraisers. The others are a haunted house in October and a turkey shoot booth at the N.C. State Fair, where folks shoot at paper targets for a chance to walk away with a frozen bird. To compensate, the group plans to add a fundraiser this year, running a national Protecting Our Nation's Youth softball tournament in July in Cary.

Jennifer Trivette, race director in 2006, said she hopes it will be only a hiatus for the steeplechase.

The race, held the first Saturday in May, has given the Triangle its own Derby Day -- a locus for hat contests, fancy tailgating and even the occasional Elvis sighting. Unlike the Kentucky Derby or most thoroughbred races, organizers say, the event had the added excitement of horses jumping barricades.

Carter Pettibone, a Jaycees vice president, said the race afforded the group key leadership development opportunities. The Brookhill Steeplechase was the only completely volunteer-run race on the National Steeplechase Association circuit, Pettibone said.

Finding a new location could prove difficult.

"The property has been perfect," Trivette said. "The landowners have treated us exceptionally well."

The Jaycees leased the Earp Farm for a nominal fee for six months each year, she said. A new track would need to be inspected and require about 200 acres.

"We've enjoyed the past success of the race and will be evaluating our options for the future," said Ed Blackman, president of the Raleigh Jaycees.